"Any card—so long as it exists—has a power that is needed."

The Gang Freaks Out Over a Cell Phone

Judai and the others are now in their second year when a quiet freshman comes to duel Judai.  While the freshman’s deck wasn’t all too powerful, it was also an improvised 40-card deck hastily made beforehand out of eight packs in the store.  But even then, Archangel Zerato gets Judai’s LP down to 1200.  Mid-duel, he speaks with a mysterious man on his cell phone, feeling a lack of interest in this duel due to his prediction.  Shou and the others realize this is the well-known Star Duelist Ed Phoenix…

And after a bit too long, here’s finalized!53! It’s fun to finally be getting back into Season 2, since, later plot pacing issues and… questionable moments aside, there’s quite a bit to like about it.  One such thing being the dynamic between Ed and Saiou that we’re introduced to here (one of my favorites), as the concept of fate/destiny starts to become an ever-present theme.  Also, hearing Takehito Koyasu again for a while will be great now that I’ve actually seen JJBA and heard him as DIO. 😂 The animation/artstyle in this episode is also a nice touch-up from what we’ve been used to, and there were some great shots of Judai and Ed there.

So, part of the delay in getting this going since finishing 52 was getting my usual bells and whistles worked on for the translated hardsub; you’ll notice that the OP is fully translated, and not just with the credits–I wanted to do a thing I originally wanted to do way back when my first go-around but lacked the skills for and translate the character names that slide in! If you check out my “subbing-rambling” tag, you can see some of the work-in-progress posts I made showing it off as I worked on it.  As part of this, I also prepared textless versions of the OP’s V2 shots of Chronos and Ed, as well as made Shou in his Red jacket textless for use here; I’ll be sharing these new textless openings as I go through the season over on NAC. (It’s really a shame that we never got those versions officially released…) The ED credits were pretty much copy/paste from Season 1, with a change in karaoke coloring, since thankfully that stays the same, and I’ll also be translating the “Best Card” shots at the end of each episode (which for some reason I noticed Crunchyroll doesn’t include, despite them being on the DVDs?), though on a static screen with the card spinning into view since that moving background’s hard to get blank, lol.

But once those were all done, there were some 53-specific edits and fixes to work on! For the hardsub, I translated the article we see about Ed so that we can read what was visible in Japanese (ie, Ed making waves in August just before Season 2 at an event Kaiba Corp. sponsored!), while I also made a few card fixes.  Breakdown below the cut, as usual.

(UPDATE [7/9/20]: I reuploaded the episode because I realized I didn’t account for the different cards Shou has in his deck shot in the Opening in 53-56 vs 57-104; Gyroid, Cyclone, and Trap Hole in the former become Submarineroid, Vehicroid Connection Zone, and No Entry in the latter (all used in 56), which is what was used in the textless video I was working with while working on translating his name there.  That’s been corrected, and will be accounted for as I share the textless OPs on NAC.  I’m nothing if not consistency-minded. 💁🏽‍♂️)

Enjoy, folks! With 53 finalized, I’ll be giving my 5D’s Dub-Uncut Ep. 26 a quick lookover to see if I have to tweak anything before I work on making the Dark Signer arc episodes’ dubs more bearable, and then I’ll start working on 54.  It’s been a bit since Manjoume last dueled, and him dueling his mini-me in Gokaido should be fun, haha.

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The One With the PERFECTion (Part 1) wait i see no cell here

Kaiser Ryou, best at the academy, nominates Judai as his opponent for his Role-Model Duel to be held in honor of his graduation.  Judai and Kaiser Ryou duel, and a worked-up Judai becomes unusually meticulous as he tries to fend off his Cyber End Dragon/Power Bond combo.  But the Kaiser Fusion-Summons Cyber End Dragon on his very first turn, and while he avoids fatal damage, due to the Kaiser’s skillful fusion and de-fusion, Judai loses his edge before he finally summons a Power-Bond-enhanced Cyber End Dragon (ATK/ 8000).

Episode 52: VS The Kaiser (Part 2) - Final Fusion

The One With the PERFECTion (Part 2) i don’t even see vegeta c’mon 

Judai’s duel with Kaiser Ryou continues, as Judai holds back a fierce attack from an enhanced Cyber End Dragon with his LP down to 100.  Hungry, he eats some riceballs and regains his true sense of self.  And then, he assembles four Elemental Heroes with different Attributes–Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind–using his Trap Card to hit the Kaiser’s field with a clean sweep.  But the Kaiser once again summons an enhanced Cyber End, and raises its ATK to 16,000 with Limiter Removal.  With fusion their strong suits, the scale of their battle hits its limits…

See ya, Season 1~

Not too long after I finalized episode 50, here’s a double-header for you as Judai and Ryou have a rematch to close the season out! This one’s pretty enjoyable, especially once Judai gets back into things; Ryou picks Judai as his last Academia opponent knowing he’d give him a good fight, but you can sense his disappointment as Judai duels without the trait he was looking forward to over the course of 51.  And then between the Elemental Burst combo and the over-the-top-ATK battle to finish things off, it’s a fun watch that sends Ryou off. 

Correction-wise, 51 had a few card fixes as well as a QOL footage fix, while there was one card fix in 52; notes below the cut, as usual. (EDIT, 2021 and 2022: Applied two fixes in 51 (in 2021) and one in 52 (2022) that I missed before, listed in bold under the cut!)

Enjoy, folks! And I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy (and home if able) given the circumstances; hopefully these get to lighten things up for you a little.  With this season now finalized, I’ll take a GX break to go work on revising my 5D’s Dub-Uncut #24 so it’s up to snuff with the newer ones I did as I start working on stuff for GX Season 2; now that I’m more well-versed in editing with Photoshop/etc, I’m looking forward to more fully translating that OP, lol. who’s ready for 52 more episodes of 99%

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The One Where Hayato Makes Us Proud

Hayato wins a card-designing contest sponsored by Industrial Illusions, Inc., with a great piece of artwork.  But unless he wins against Professor Chronos in their exam duel, he won’t get to be the card designer he hopes to be.  As Hayato and Chronos duel, Hayato doesn’t misplay and takes on Chronos’s Antique Gear cards on even footing, but gradually his Antique Gear Golem overwhelms and nearly crushes him.   Remembering his resolve from his trip to Australia a year ago, he attempts a comeback with his “Ayers Rock Sunrise” Spell…

Got ourselves a finalized episode 50! This one’s a favorite because Hayato shows us that Judai and the others have rubbed off on him–he’s gone from someone who was held back and was near giving up to being more confident and hopeful, and you do like to see it.  As you do Chronos actually caring. (Also that Kaisei instrumental during the ending why weren’t you released 😭)

Unfortunately, it’s not as powerful in the dub because they tossed out any subtle character moments Hayato had through the season showing us that he’s learning from the group (a moment in episode 5 that I mentioned a while back being replaced with talk of grilled cheese, for one).

Surprisingly, no card edits or anything needed to be done here, so this was easy to churn out; may have a few for 51 though, so we’ll see how that goes as I work on it and 52 to finish up Season 1 as Judai and Ryou have themselves a rematch.

Enjoy, folks!

The One With the Perfect Hair Forever - Part 1

Aged Chairman Kagemaru steals the keys to the seven Spirit Gates, acquiring the three Phantasm cards.  Judai and Kagemaru duel, and Kagemaru summons the first Phantasm, “Uria, Lord of Divine Flames.” Its ATK is multiplied by 1000 for each Trap Card in his Cemetery, and it can take out opposing Traps.  Judai takes down Uria, but it revives with each attempt.  Additionally, the second Phantasm, “Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder” (ATK/ 4000), is summoned, and Judai faces a tough predicament against both Phantasms.  Through the Phantasms, Kagemaru gains the life energies of the Duel Monsters, which…

Episode 49: VS Kagemaru (Part 2) - The Three Phantasms Awaken

(The One With the Perfect Hair Forever - Part 2)

“Raviel, Lord of Phantasms” (ATK/ 4000), is summoned, as well.  Kagemaru’s goal is to absorb even Judai and gain eternal life from the Duel Monsters.  Judai’s down to 600LP, but he rides his wishes on the mysterious card left behind by Daitokuji, and aims for a turnaround…

Bit of a delay aside (as I mentioned here), episodes 48 and 49 are finally finalized! Here, we reach the climax of our villain plot this Season, as Judai takes on Old Man Kagemaru and the three Phantasms we’ve been building up to seeing.  It’s a good two-parter that does a good job of showing how menacing they can be (though maybe Part 2 does a better job due to the better art quality), and they’re not bad as the yang to the Mythic/Egyptian Gods’ yin (though I believe that role’s better played by the Wicked cards in YGO R? Been a while…).  Judai appealing to Kagemaru’s humanity (around eliminating the Duel Monsters leading to his loneliness) is a nice touch, too, and I’m glad that the dub kep–just kidding, the dub completely cut that part out

As I mentioned in my initial linked post, part of the delay in getting these done was finishing the animation/card fixes with a slightly hectic irl schedule; 48 had less of them, but 49 had a couple that were… fun to work with.  List below the cut, as usual~

Enjoy, folks! I’ll be taking a little break to work some more on those 5D’s Dub-Uncuts (revising my first attempt at episode 23, which should sound neat with Duel Links lines) before prepping to knock out the final three episodes and get Season 1 in the finalized books.  Looking forward to Hayato VS Chronos and the Graduation Duel finale; Judai VS Ryou II is one of my favorites. :)

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